


Cherry Blossoms

by KittyBandit



Series: The Fox and the Priest; A Youkai AU [3]
Category: D.Gray-man
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, Kitsune!Lavi, M/M, Shinto Priest!Allen, youkai AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-05
Updated: 2019-08-05
Packaged: 2020-08-10 02:04:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20127565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KittyBandit/pseuds/KittyBandit
Summary: It's Lavi's first time attending Hanami and he can't help being a little nervous.





	Cherry Blossoms

**Author's Note:**

> Here's my first submission for Laven Week, 2019! The prompts were as follows:
> 
> DAY 1 (Monday, August 5th): Mitarashi Dango   
Festivals | Sweet & Savory | Sticky | Excitement | Endearing
> 
> I chose to focus on Festivals and Sticky. 
> 
> Hope you all enjoy this!

“You can’t see my tails, can you?”

Allen smiled and shook his head, brushing a few strands of red hair from Lavi’s freckled face. He tucked the wild hair behind his ear, fingers lingering longer than necessary. Lavi sighed at the cool touch, leaning into it. “You’re fine, Lavi. You look completely human. No one will know.”

Regardless of Allen’s patient assurances, Lavi’s stomach flipped with nerves. He’d never attended a village festival before. Sure, in the past, he’d watched on from a safe distance—usually hiding in the underbrush near the edge of the forest, or hanging in the tree branches for a better view. But he’d never… mingled. Allen had tried to persuade him to join the festivities for years now, but Lavi had refrained.

However, this year was different. After the debacle with the river spirit, Lavi had finally interacted with Allen’s friends out of necessity. And… they were not as fearful of him as he’d expected. Most humans who encountered spirits tended to fear them, some even acting with malice at their very presence. But Allen’s friends had treated him no differently than they treated other humans. It helped to know he had more than Allen on his side, that he could count Allen’s friends as his own.

Of course, that didn’t mean they hadn’t squabbled from time to time—especially with Kanda.

“Are you two ready yet, or what?” Kanda growled from the other side of the paper door. Lavi jumped at the grumpy call, too on edge to keep from reacting.

Sighing, Allen rolled his silver eyes and pulled away from Lavi. He walked to the door, the hem of his white and black kimono brushing against the tatami mats before yanking open the door. Kanda didn’t flinch, and Allen glared up at him as he stood in the doorway. “We’ll be ready soon. Give us a few more minutes.”

Kanda’s eyebrows creased, his frown deepening. “Two minutes. If I have to hear Alma ask when we’re leaving one more time, I’m taking it out on you.”

A faint call of _“You will not,”_ and _“Yuu, don’t be mean,”_ came from the other room. Allen smiled and tilted his head, refusing to leave the doorway. “I think your partners have something to say about that.”

Huffing, Kanda turned on his heel and left—but not before giving Allen an icy glare.

Lavi shifted his attention back to his clothes, fiddling with the hem of his green and orange kimono sleeves. “Al?” He hated how weak his voice sounded, but he couldn’t shake the worried thoughts from his mind.

Without hesitation, Allen returned to Lavi’s side, gently pulling his fingers from his sleeves. “I promise everything will be okay. Lenalee and I will be there—so will Kanda and Alma. We’re just going to enjoy the cherry blossoms and have fun with the villagers.”

“But what if someone notices? What if I can’t hold the illusion spell? I’m not great at hiding my tails, and—”

“Lavi,” Allen said, placing his hands on either side of the kitsune’s face. His ethereal silver eyes locked onto Lavi’s single green gem—soothing, calming, as gentle as the softest feathers or a light spring rain. “Relax. You’re safe as long as you’re with me, okay?”

Unable to argue, Lavi nodded as he chewed on his lower lip to distract himself from his spiraling thoughts. “Okay.”

Allen pulled him down, hands still cradling his cheeks, and kissed him softly. Lavi whined into the touch, his hands going straight for the front of Allen’s neatly tied kimono. His priest knew how to calm him, knew just the right things to say and do to keep him satiated. The kiss was a wonderful distraction, and he almost wished they could stay at the house instead and keep kissing. But before he could voice that thought, he heard light footsteps approaching the doorway, and an amused throat-clearing noise. When they parted, he saw Lenalee at the door, a smile spread over her lips.

“If you two are done, we’re heading out,” she said, a hand on her hip as she balanced a basket in the other arm.

Allen chuckled softly, ducking his head to hide the flush on his cheeks. “We’re ready.”

xXxXxXx

Hanami occurred every April, and when the cherry blossoms were at their peak, the village celebrated with food and drink. Lavi had never attended. He’d seen the festival many times, of course. Being a kitsune made sneaking around easy, and the villagers never noticed if he peeked in on their activities time to time. But being in the thick of the festival, even if the village was small, was something else entirely.

His sharp nose caught the smell of cooked fish on the breeze, as well as the mellow warmth of fresh rice and hot tea. The air was still cool in early April, but the sun beat down between the cherry blossoms, warm and inviting. Lavi hung close to Allen as they made their way through the cherry trees. Only fifteen or so trees dotted the outskirts of the village, spread out enough that all the villagers could enjoy them without feeling overcrowded.

Lenalee had secured a spot under one of the smaller trees, and Kanda helped her lay a blanket down for their picnic. Every villager had made something to share with everyone—a different treat to enjoy under the cherry blossoms—and were already passing them out. Allen sat down with Lavi at his heels just as Alma set a large platter down in the middle of the blanket.

Bumping his shoulder against Allen’s, Lavi cast a nervous glance at the other groups enjoying the blossoms. Before he could utter a word about his discomfort, he felt Allen’s hand on the small of his back. The weight had Lavi’s heart fluttering in his chest like a delicate butterfly on a gentle summer breeze.

“Lavi,” Allen said, his voice soft and low as he leaned closer to whisper in his ear. “Don’t worry. Enjoy the cherry blossoms.”

The sweetness of Allen’s tone left a faint blush on Lavi’s cheeks. Normally, he didn’t fluster easily, but being around so many people had him off kilter. “I’ll try.”

Lenalee, having the grace to pretend she wasn’t eavesdropping, grabbed a small bowl from the platter and handed it to Lavi. “Why don’t you try some of the mochi Alma helped me make? It’s really delicious.”

Lavi took a piece, the brightly colored ball light between his fingertips. He gave Lenalee a smile, weak as it was. “Thank you, Lena.”

“Stop being such a baby,” Kanda said, sitting down next to Alma, a scowl on his face. Though after a few months in Kanda’s company, Lavi realized that scowl was permanently etched into his face. “Everyone thinks you’re just Allen’s friend. No one is going to bother you.”

“Yuu’s right,” Alma added, handing him an onigiri. The rice was still warm against his palm. “No one will notice a thing.”

Allen and his friends’ calm demeanor as they passed out snacks helped to ease some of Lavi’s trepidation. He popped the ball of mochi into his mouth and looked up at the colorful foliage of the cherry tree. As worried as he’d been, he was glad he’d come to the festival. The blossoms looked spectacular.

The hours ticked by while food and drink were liberally passed around. Allen’s friends had wandered off some time ago, Lenalee wanting to chat with some of the villagers, tailed closely by Alma and a disgruntled Kanda—both of whom Lavi was convinced never left the priestess’ side for longer than five minutes. He was alone with Allen on the blanket, the sun warming their backs as he watched Allen eat another stick of mitarashi dango. Pink petals from the blossoms overhead drifted down on the wind, settling in Allen’s hair. Lavi couldn’t help but grin at the sight.

“This is nice,” he said unprompted, taking another sip of the saké. It warmed his belly and sent a pleasant shiver up his spine.

Allen looked up, the sweet sauce sticking to his lips. Lavi’s smile was infectious, and Allen mirrored it. “You’re having fun?”

“Mhmm. Definitely.” He scooted closer to Allen on the blanket, their knees touching. “I’m glad you persuaded me to come with.”

After setting down the empty skewer, Allen turned to Lavi, brushing the unruly red hair from his face. “And I’m glad you could enjoy this with me.”

Lavi hummed at Allen’s touch, the sound turning into a purr before he could control it. No one noticed the oddity, not when they were all too caught up in the festivities. He looked into Allen’s beautiful, colorless eyes and leaned in closer. “I want to kiss you right now, Priest.”

Allen’s amused smile grew. “And what’s stopping you, little fox?” he whispered back, sweet tone barely masking the mischief in his voice.

Unable to keep the feelings welled up inside him a moment longer, Lavi closed the distance between them and met their lips in a soft, earnest kiss. Allen exhaled, the taste of mitarashi dango on his tongue as Lavi deepened it, too wrapped up in the moment to care where they were or that they weren’t alone. When they parted, his noticed the flushed pallor of Allen’s cheeks. His own pulse raced with excitement.

“_Allen_,” he said, voice low and suspiciously perky.

“Yes, Lavi?”

“I know I just said I’m having fun watching the cherry blossoms fall,” he began, his fingers dancing on the hem of Allen’s collar. “But, I wouldn’t mind if we… found some place to be _alone_.”

Snickering, Allen shook his head and captured Lavi’s wandering fingers before they grew too curious. “Lecherous fox. Is that all you think about?”

“Absolutely not,” Lavi countered, pouting as he always did when Allen teased him. “But how am I supposed to resist you after a kiss like that?”

“Fair enough,” Allen replied, glancing around to make sure no one was watching them before standing up and taking Lavi’s hand. “C’mon. We should hurry up before we’re missed.”

As they slipped away from the festivities unnoticed, Lavi grinned and squeezed Allen’s hands tighter. He may have conquered his fears for the day, but in the end, some things never changed.


End file.
